Six people have died after a group of ski hikers were caught outside by an unexpected snowstorm in the Swiss Alps.
Two Italian couples aged in their mid-40s and mid-50s died from hypothermia after being evacuated to hospital and their 59-year-old Italian guide died at the scene after a fall, police in Valais canton said.
Police announced the sixth victim was a 52-year-old Bulgarian woman, who died in hospital on Tuesday from her injuries.
Three women - a 72-year-old Swiss, a 56-year-old Frenchwoman and a 43-year-old Italian - remain in hospital, one of them in a life-threatening condition, police said.
Three of the victims died soon after they reached hospital while the guide died at the scene. Another victim died on Monday evening.
Two groups of hikers, totalling 14 people, were forced to spend the night of Sunday to Monday out in the cold after being trapped in the Pigne d'Arolla region of southwestern Switzerland.
They were trying to reach the Vignettes hikers' hut at 3,157m (10,357ft) in the Alps, but were caught off-guard by high winds and snow, prompting a rescue and recovery operation involving seven helicopters.
